Barbara Roberts Is Named Middlesex College’s 2026 Alumna of the Year
Roberts ’17, a music therapist, community leader, and advocate for healing through the arts, will speak at the College’s 59th Commencement.
To the people in her communities, Barbara Roberts is a leader, a mentor, and a shoulder to lean on. But as she humbly believes, to be a great leader is to be an even greater follower.
“People look at me as this older, wiser person, but going to college gave me that new perspective,” said Roberts. “It taught me to speak and give speeches, but also to sit down and just listen. I love challenges, and Middlesex College challenged me. By the time I got to Montclair [State University], I was already given the foundation to lead from Middlesex.”
Roberts’s journey was a road paved with adversity. Growing up in a low-income household in the Bronx, New York, she watched her mother scrape up what she could just to put a meal on the table. She recalls that regardless of circumstance, her mother always sat at that table with a smile. Roberts carried that mentality with her into adulthood. Later in life, a car accident left her with multiple spine and back surgeries, one of which required doctors to sever her vocal cords. This was devastating for Roberts, as singing was her lifeline. Through the support of her daughter, her church community, and one doctor who believed she could sing again, Roberts was back to full vocal capacity in a few years.
During her recovery, Roberts was inspired to make a move that changed the course of her life forever.
“I told my daughter that we have what we need, but I want to make a real change,” said Roberts. “I knew the only way to do that was through education.”
She immediately got in touch with the Middlesex College Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) office. Roberts recalls telling the person on the phone, “My name is Barbara Roberts and I ain’t got no money, but I want an education.”
“I had no clue what college was, what it looked like,” said Roberts. “I tried to turn around, but my little ones pushed me back. I was scared. I was 35 years out of high school, and even that was a GED.”
She enrolled at Middlesex College in 2014. Roberts credits her student success professor for helping her come out of her shell and realize that “college does not define you, but you define college.” She joined the Music Club to sing and play harmonies but felt like it wasn’t a great fit. That was when she was inspired to start a choir on campus.
“The choir was a safe space for so many of us,” said Roberts. “Some students would come who were not in the choir to just sit and do homework. It has been 12 years now, and I’m so happy that it’s still going.”
In 2017, Roberts graduated from Middlesex College and went on to study psychology at Montclair State University. In 2023, driven by her love for music, Roberts graduated with a master’s degree in music therapy. She currently works as a music therapist at the Ann Klein Forensic Center in Trenton, New Jersey, where she provides care to individuals who are in the legal system and suffering from mental illness.
Outside of her professional career, Roberts has dedicated her life to serving others. She is often seen leading food and clothing drives with her church, or volunteering at assisted living centers. In recent years, Roberts has worked with the Middlesex College Community Resource Hub & Food Pantry to give back to the community. She also notes that the College’s Dental Hygiene Clinic has supported her community work by providing hundreds of care packages for distribution.
“I instill service into all of my communities,” said Roberts. “It was from watching my mom and my neighbors. They would run their electricity from their house to ours with a cord. We would all make parts of a meal and come together to eat. These grown-ups when I was young showed me how to come together with the community.”
Through it all, Roberts continues to showcase that a life filled with love, community, and determination can help anyone move forward with purpose.
“Whether you are continuing education or in your career, nothing good is easy,” said Roberts. “It is how you take whatever life throws at you and turn it into something positive.”
Roberts takes immense pride in the path that she has taken, attributing much of her foundational growth to the community at Middlesex College.
“Failure to me is development,” said Roberts. “You can’t be right all the time. You need to have someone telling you, ‘No, that’s not the right way.’ Don’t run from your professors, go to them. They are your mentors. Don’t be afraid to talk to your advisors, counselors, professors, and friends. It takes a village to build a happy life. Use your village.”
Roberts will deliver her remarks to the Class of 2026 at Commencement on May 11 at Jersey Mike’s Arena at the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, New Jersey. For more information about the 2026 Commencement Ceremony, visit middlesexcollege.edu/commencement/.
